A short course on motor vehicle injury for emergency medicine residents.
Despite growing interest and activity by emergency physicians in injury prevention, we found no reports of any attempts to include injury control concepts in emergency medicine residency training. An existing course for graduate level public health students on motor vehicle injury was modified for emergency medicine residents, presented as a one-day short course, and evaluated. The objective of the course was to provide information regarding the dynamics and prevention of motor vehicle crashes. An equally important second objective was to demonstrate to the residents the need for emergency physicians as part of the injury control research team. The content of the course was based on the conceptual model in which a motor vehicle crash is analyzed in terms of precrash, crash, and post-crash factors. The correlation between the mechanism of injury and the types of injuries experienced was of particular interest. A one-day format was found to be too concentrated. The incorporation of injury prevention concepts and research methods into the grand rounds, journal club, and conferences of the emergency medicine residency is recommended. Educational objectives and practical suggestions for implementation are provided. A comprehensive reading list is available on request.
Holden
J A
JA
School of Public Health, University of Illinois, Chicago 60680.
Lumpkin
J R
JR
Christoffel
T
T
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*